Trundling toy



July 15, 1969 D, MCCARVER 3,455,050

TRUNDLI NG TOY Filed Oct. 22, 1965 INVENTOR. //1?M/1/V D. M KAM JQArray/v5) 3,455,050 TRUNDLING TOY Herman D. McCarver, 6801 S. D St.,Tacoma, Wash. 98408 Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 501,276 Int. Cl. A63h11/10 US. Cl. 46107 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE link depends froma point on the handle rearwardly of the wheel.

The present invention relates to a trundling toy, and more particularlyto a trundling toy comprising an animal characterization, and means forcausing the characterization to move, as the toy is trundled, in amanner giving it the appearance of bounding, i.e., running in asuccession of springs or leaps.

The trundling toy of the present invention is in the same general classwith, but is distinguishable from, the trundling toys disclosed by thefollowing US. patents: Dom No. 224,585; Morrison No. 257,742; Ard No.1,040,988; Savage No. 1,604,663; Gumb No. 2,361,196; Cohen No. 2,378,190; Schueger No. 2,432,817; Veress No. 2,522,076; and Cerino No.2,541,404.

The animal characterization in the toy of the present invention ispreferably a fiat or two-dimensional, nonarticulated cutout, fromplywood, hardboard, sheet aluminum, sheet plastic etc. In addition tothe animal characterization and the means for giving it the appearanceof bounding as the toy is moved, the toy includes a support member.Preferably the support member is a push rod, which may be similar inconstruction to, and employed in the same manner as, the handle of aconventional carpet sweeper. According to the present invention, themeans for giving movement to the animal characterization comprises acircular wheel rotatably mounted at its true center to the forwardlypositioned lower end of the push rod; pivot pin means pivotallyconnecting the forward portion of the characterization to said wheel, ata point radially offset from the true center of the wheel; and a shortswing arm pivotally attached at one of its ends to the push rod abovethe wheel, and pivotally attached at its other end to the rear portionof the characterization. As will be apparent, when the toy is trundledby a child, for example, holding the push rod at an acute angle withrespect to the floor or other support surfaces, the forward portion ofthe animal characterization is moved in a vertically oriented circularpath, in the directional rotation of the wheel, while the rear portionof the characterization swings back and forth along an arcuate path,like the bob of a pendulum, and about the point of pivotal connection ofthe swing arm to the push rod. The combined effect of these twomovements is to give the characterization the appearance of bounding.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wheeled action toy ofthe above described character which is simple in construction, and whichcan be economically manufactured, and yet is durable in use andefficient in opera tion.

These, together with other objects and advantages, which will becomesubsequently apparent, reside in the details of atent O construction andoperation of certain typical embodiments of the invention presently tobe described, with reference being made to the accompanying drawingforming a part of this application, wherein like letters and numeralsrefer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view taken from above and toward the front andthe animal characterization side of a trundling toy typifying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the toy shown by FIG. 1, lookingtoward the outboard side of the characterization, and showing thecharacterization in the position which it occupies when the pivot pinmeans connecting its forward position to the wheel is in its bottommostposition, and including a broken line showing of the circular path oftravel of such pivot pin means, and a broken line showing of the twopositions occupied by said pivot pin means when the swing arm is in itstwo end positions of movement, and showing by broken lines the two endpositions of movement of the swing arm;

FIG. 3 is a view like FIG. 2, but showing the positions of the severalparts after the wheel has rotated about an additional quarter ofrevolution, with the swing arm in such view shown to be very close toits rearwardmost position; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 3, presenting a solid lineshowing of the relative positioning of the several parts upon about anadditional quarter of a revolution of the wheel, and a broken lineshowing of the various parts in the position they occupy upon aboutstill another quarter of a revolution of the wheel.

Referring more specifically to the various figures of the drawing, theillustrated embodiment of the invention is shown to comprise a push rod10 having a lower end portion 12 and an upper or handle end portion 14.By way of typical and therefore nonlimitive example, the push rod 10 maybe a solid cylindrical rod of wood (i.e., a dowel) or plastic, or may betubular metal, such as aluminum or aluminum alloy, or tubular plastic.

An axle, which may be in the form of a machine bolt 16, for example,extends laterally from the push rod 10 near the lower end 12. The axle16 serves to rotatably mount a wheel W, which as illustrated may simplybe a circular or disc cutout from a suitable sheet material, such asplywood or hardboard, for example. The wheel W is shown to be injuxtaposition with the lower end portion of the push rod 10, and theaxle 16 is shown to extend through the true or geometric center of thewheel W. The axle 1 6 may be fixed relative to the push rod 10, with thewheel W rotating around it, or the axle 16 may be fixed relative to thewheel W, with it and the wheel W rotating together relative to the pushrod 10.

The component of the toy that is the center of attraction is an animalcharacterization 1 8. Herein the term animal is used to mean fanciful(e.g., unicorns) as well as real animals. Preferably the animal is aquadruped depicted in the process of running. In other words, one of thefront legs of the animal is positioned slightly ahead of the other, andthe rear leg corresponding to the forwardly positioned front leg isitself positioned forwardly of the other rear leg. In the drawing a dogis shown by way of example, with its legs positioned in this manner.

Like the wheel W, the animal characterization 18 may be a flat ortwo-dimensional cutout, cut from plywood, hardboard, or a similar sheetmaterial.

The animal characterization 18 is made to be substantially longer thanthe diameter of wheel W. The forward portion of the animalcharacterization 18 is in juxtaposition with the wheel W, on the sidethereof opposite the push rod 10. Such forward portion is pivotallyconnected, preferably at a relatively low point, to a location on thewheel W that is radially offset from the true center C of the wheel W.The pivot pin 20' may simply be a screw with a shank smaller than, and ahead larger than, an opening drilled through, or otherwise formed in,the forward portion of the characterization 18. The threaded end of thescrew 20 would be anchored in the wheel W.

As illustrated, the rear portion of the characterization 18 extendsrearwardly of the wheel W. It is supported in a position above thesupport surface SS by a relatively short swing arm 22. The upper end ofthe swing arm 22 is pivotally connected at 24 to a point on the push rodspaced along the push rod 10 above the wheel W. The lower end of swingarm 22 is pivotally connected at 26 to the rear portion of thecharacterization 18. Preferably, and as illustrated, the pivot point 26is located at a relatively high point on the rear portion of thecharacterization 18.

The means establishing pivot point 24 may simply be a bolt passingthrough apertures in the push rod 10 and the swing arm 22, at least oneof which apertures is enlarged, with the bolt being retained in place bya conventional nut. The means establishing pivot point 26 may be a screwextending through an enlarged hole in the animal characterization 18 andanchoring in the swing arm 22.

As illustrated, swing arm 22 may simply be a short, generallyrectangular bar, with round ends, cut from a plank of wood or a piece ofplywood, or formed of plastic or metal. In its assembled position, theswing arm 22 is disposed between the push rod 10 and the rear portion ofthe animal characterization 18, and is substantially co planar with thewheel W. The diameter of wheel W, the amount of offset between center Cand pivot point 20, the length of swing arm 22, and the variousdimensions of the animal characterization 18, are all chosen so thatduring use of the toy the feet of the animal characterization 18 nevertouch the support surface SS.

In use, the push rod 10 is grasped at 14 and pushed on the supportsurface SS ahead of the user, similar to the manner in which a carpetsweeper is pushed. As the toy is moved forwardly, the wheel W rollsalong the support surface SS, and the push rod 10 remains in asubstantially constant position or attitude. Thus, the center ofrotation C of the wheel W, which is a first pivot point, and the upperposition of pivotal movement of swing arm 22 (i.e., point 24), which isa second pivot point, move in rectilinear translation. That is to say, astraight line interconnecting point C and 24 would remain substantiallyparallel to its initial position as the toy is moved. Since push rod 10is rigid, the distance separating the point C, 22 remains constant, andthese points C, 24 have no motion relating to each other.

The distance separating the third pivot point 20 and the fourth pivotpoint 20 is also always constant, because the animal characterization 18is rigid, i.e., nonarticulated, between these two points.

As the toy is pushed forwardly pivot pin 20 is rotated about the truecenter C of the wheel W. As a result, the forward portion of the animalcharacterization 18 is moved along a substantially vertically orientedcircular path of travel. As long as the toy is being moved forwardly,the movement of point 20 along the circular path is unidirectional.However, movement of connection point 26, and the rear portion of theanimal characterization 18, is bidirectional, and along a flat,relatively short arcuate path.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the pivot point 20, the center C and the pivotpoint 26 lie in a straight line, with the pivot point 20 forwardly ofthe center C, the swing arm 22 is at its forwardmost position a. Whenthese three points are aligned and the pivot point 20 is rearwardly ofcenter C, the swing arm 22 is at its rearwardmost position of swing b.As will be apparent, as the pivot point 20 rotates from its position ofalignment forwardly of point C back to its position of alignmentrearwardly of point C, the swing arm 22, the pivot point 26, and therear portion of the animal characterization 18 all swing from position ato position I). Then, as point 20 rotates forwardly from its alignedposition rearwardly of point C to its aligned position forwardly ofpoint C, the swing arm, the pivot point 26, and the rear portion of theanimal characterization 18 make the return swing from point b to pointa.

To an observer the motion of the characterization 18 appears to be oneof bounding. In other words, as the toy is trundled forwardly, theanimal characterization 18 appears to move with a succession of springsor leaps. During each cycle of the wheel W, the forward portion of theanimal characterization 18 is displaced vertically an amount equal totwice the distance that the pivot point 20 is offset from the truecenter C of the wheel W. The rear portion of the characterization 18 isdisplaced vertically by a much smaller amount. This is near to whathappens when a four legged animal moves in a succession of springs orleaps.

From the foregoing, various further modifications, arrangements andadaptations of the present invention will occur to those skilled in theart to which the invention is addressed. For example, the wheel W, theanimal characterization 18, and the swing arm 22 may be duplicated onthe opposite side of the push rod 10, so that a moving characterizationis presented on both sides of the toy. Also the toy may be adapted to bepulled rather than pushed. This could be simply done by replacing thepush rod 10 with a support member ending immediately rearwardly of pivotpoint 24, and having a forwardly extending handle portion.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wheeled action toy, rollable along a support surface:

a support member which maintains a substantially constant attitudeduring intended movement of the toy, said support member including meansdefining a first pivot point spaced above the support surface and asecond pivot point which during the intended use of the toy is spacedboth above the first pivot point and rearwardly therefrom in thedirection of intended toy movement, said support member being rigidbetween said first and second pivot points so that they are always in afixed position relative to each other;

an elongated animal characterization depicted to be in the process ofrunning, said characterization having a front portion in the vicinity ofsaid first pivot point and a rear portion in the vicinity of, but below,the second pivot point;

means defining a third pivot point in a lower front portion of thecharacterization and a fourth pivot point in an upper rear portion ofthe characterization, said characterization being rig-id between saidthird and fourth pivot points, so that they are always in a fixedposition relative to each other, and said characterization including alower rear portion depicting rear legs which is always located below thefourth pivot point;

a circular trundling wheel rotatably attached at its true center to thesupport member at said first pivot point;

means pivotally connecting the front portion of the characterization, atthe third pivot point, to the trundling wheel at a point thereofradially offset from such true center;

a relatively short swing arm depending below said second pivot point;and

means pivotally connecting the upper end of the swing arm to the supportmember, at the second pivot point, and means pivotally connecting thelower end of said swing arm to the rear portion of the animalcharacterization, at the fourth pivot point,

whereby as the wheel is rotated on the support surface the first andsecond pivot points move in rectilinear translation, the third pivotpoint moves in unidirectional rotation about the first pivot point, thefourth pivot point swings like a pendulum back and forth along anarcuate path situated entirely below and 5 6 centered at the secondpivot point, and the animal 1,599,437 9/1926 Schelb 4610'7characterization appears to be running in a succes- 2,444,169 6/1948Paige 46-126 sion of spring or leaps.

References Cited LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,364,512 1/1921 Ogden 46-107 H. DINITZ, Assistant Examiner

